Quartet Japanese

A small committee formed by founding father Robert Fripp of King Crimson, ProjeKct Two lies somewhere between the guitarist-in-chief's rich solo riffwork and the rawkin' yet dead-tight group efforts of his infamously pretentious prog rock ensemble…

Few chamber music groups have as proud a history as the Smetana Quartet, or a history that evokes as much nationalistic passion. Founded during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, the group's very existence was an anomaly during an era when any manifestation of Czech nationalism was outlawed. They survived into the post-Nazi era, and went on to an acclaimed international performing career, making some of the finest chamber music recordings of the 1950s and 1960s…

The Tokyo Quartet became one of the most prominent string quartets in the world and continues a reputation for insightful interpretations.

Sad news with the passing last September of Akira Nishimura, the day before his 70th anniversary. He was an important figure of avant-garde music in Japan and left us with Pulses of Light one of the most striking recent string quartets, a breathtaking compendium of the technical and sonic possibilities of this ensemble. The rest of this album by the Lotus String Quartet highlights great pages of modern Japanese music from the “extraordinary generation” (Takemitsu, Miyoshi, Yashiro) still very much inspired by Western modern music, mostly the Second Viennese School. It also performs Landscape I, an iconic work by Nishimura’s contemporary Toshio Hosokawa.